The Hybrid Future

I was attending a press conference in Ancona, Italy, earlier this year when I first heard the news. Norberto Ferretti, co-founder of Ferretti Yachts and president of the Ferretti Group, announced that the Group had just launched a hybrid-powered hull.

The finished vessel will debut in Genoa this year under the Mochi Craft brand as the Long Range 23. She is the first boat measuring more than 75 feet to have a hybrid drive, the Ferretti Group states.

Specifications

Builder: Mochi Craft

Twin MAN diesel inboards (either the standard 500-hp or optional 800-hp) are connected to a 15-inch, touchscreen NAVIOP monitoring system, which allows the helmsman to switch among three different propulsion modes with the swipe of a finger: diesel, diesel-electric, or just electric.

According to Ferretti, the electric operational modes engage a cache of Lithium ion batteries that can power the boat for several hours while producing zero emissions.

This expedition-style yacht has strikingly different lines from Mochi Craft's previous make of boats, the Downeast-style Dolphin series. She has three enclosed decks with full side decks on each. And she's topped off with a flying bridge accessed via a stairwell in the upper-deck helm station. The latter is appointed with a leather divan instead of a helm chair and an oak parquet floor instead of a more traditional teak.

Yes, this boat goes a long way to eschew tradition; even her hull form is a jump into something new. Mochi Craft states that the Ferretti Wave Efficient Yacht (FER.WAY) trans-planing hull will keep running angles near flat at almost all speeds, working in synergy with the engines to provide comfortable long-distance cruising.

For more information on Mochi Craft, including contact information, click here.

Brazilian and Proud

Sterling Yachts

Sterling Atlantic 41

The most prominent feature of any Sterling Yachts vessel may be the dramatic freeboard forward—a Brazilian builder's take on Downeast styling—and the same holds true for the new Atlantic 41.

The oversize freeboard allows full standing headroom in the galley-down as well as in the master stateroom. And there are some other nice features below decks. A single 370-hp Volvo Penta D6 stern drive produces a top speed of 19 knots, according to Sterling. The company also states that the 41-footer should have a range of around 1,000 nautical miles at her cruising speed of 8 knots.